Written in Sand
by Okami Kage Hachi
Summary: So, if you think about it, a story is not written in stone. Rather it is written in sand, constantly changing and shifting with each newly added element. So let us see how a lonely boy of sand meeting an equally lonely fox boy changes the elements of stor
1. Chapter 1

Written in Sand

Chapter one: The good news

Nothing is truly written in stone. After all, it only takes one little event to change everything. Even if it seems inconceivable or unimportant, that's all it takes to change one person's life and destiny. And when you affect one person's life, you're sure to affect many others. And as you change more and more people's lives, the story changes with it. Before you know, have a completely different tale.

_So, if you think about it, a story is not written in stone. Rather it is written in sand, constantly changing and shifting with each newly added element. So let us see how a lonely boy of sand meeting an equally lonely fox boy changes the elements of story and the lives of others. All with nothing but undying friendship._

It was a lovely day in Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and a gang of children was currently chasing a small blonde boy through the village trying to beat the living day lights out of him. For no real reason mind you.

"Get back here Uzamaki so I can pond you."

"Why, I didn't do anything to you?"

"I don't give a care, just get back here." Instead following orders, the blonde boy sped up. This only made the group angrier. In a state of panic, the boy made a sharp turn down an alleyway, hoping to elude his pursuers.

'Big mistake, Uzamaki. That leads to a dead end.' The group slowed down to a walk as they came to the corner. There was no need to waist energy when their target wasn't going anywhere. Many of the children were starting to get excited, looking forward to the pounding they were going to give the boy. But one of them was looking nervice.

"Hey, uh, guys." Many turned to look at their accomplice.

"What is it?"

"Don't you think we should get going to the academy? After all, we don't want to be late."

"Relax, we have plenty of time and this should only take a second." The ringleader said while cracking his knuckles. It was at this moment that the group started to turn the corner.

"Alright, Uzamaki, there is no were else to run. If you come out now we promise not to…?" The boy stopped in mid sentence when he got a good look at the alleyway. There were trashcans and garbage lying around and a ten-foot fence in the back but no sign of the blonde boy.

"Spread out and search the place. He must be hiding in here some where." The children divided into teams and began picking through the alleyway. They scanned it from top to bottom, digging through trash and running their hands along the walls incase he had used a concealment technique. But there was still no sign of their target.

"Hey, uh, boss." The leader, who had been supervising everything, turned to look at the boy next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think we should get going to the academy? We'll be late if we don't hurry." He then pointed to the watch on his wrist. The leaders eyes widened when he saw the time.

"Ah man, your right. Hey everyone, drop what your doing and get over here." Everyone looked up from their projects and, regrettable, walked over to the alleyway entrance.

"What is it boss?" The leader only needed to point to the time for everyone to get the idea. The small gang began scampering out of the alleyway and went into a full out sprint to Konoha academy. Although they were all pretty focused on getting to the academy on time, some had not forgotten the reason for there lateness.

"Ah man, we almost had Uzamaki that time." One of the girls in the group complained

"Don't worry, we'll get him next time. And besides, it's not like we don't know were he'll be after school." They all shared an evil grin at this thought.

The boy watched the people in the streets below pass by. They seemed so oblivious to his presence. Which is how things were supposed to be. He knew that if he made himself known, it would almost as bad as the beating the boys tried to give him. All he would get was hated glares and feverish whispers. Or worse yet, they would act as if he was the plague and give him a wide berth. But by far, the worst part was that he didn't know why. Aside from a few small pranks, he hadn't done anything wrong. Yet, day-by-day he found himself scrutinized for a crime that he didn't know he committed.

"Well they must have given up by now." He said to no one in particular. But even as he said this, he found himself checking his surroundings. After a quick check, he stood up from his sitting position and jumped down from his hiding spot. He jumped down into an empty alley, making sure not to be seen or heard.

'And my senseis said that I'm too loud to be a ninja.' Unforcenatly, he wasn't paying enough attention and ended up tripping over a garbage can. This resulted in him knocking over more trashcans, filling the alley with the sounds of thunder. Many people abruptly stopped what they were doing and stared down the open alley. Before any one could investigate further, the blonde boy had scrambled to his feet and was now making a breaking for it. By the time he stopped running, the boy had covered over a mile in length.

"Boy, that was a close one." He huffed out as he combed his fingers through his messy, blonde hair. Now, I'm sure you've all realized by now who this little boy is. (Because if you haven't, you're an even bigger idiot that him.) He is none other than Uzamaki Naruto, future Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves. Of course, most everyone knew him as the biggest knucklehead and troublemaker in Konoha. Speaking of trouble, Naruto just so happened to glance up at the clock and realized.

"Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" Naruto immediately began to panic and started running around in circles. As you can imagine, this wasted even more time making the situation worse. Finally, after about five minutes of pure panic, Naruto managed to pull himself together and then attempted another mad dash for Konoha Academy.

"Alright everyone, calm down and listen up. I have big news." The room went quiet when the students heard the "big news" part. There sensei, Iruka, smiled at the sight of all there alert faces staring at him.

'Gets them every time.'

"Well, as you all know…" But he didn't get to finish as the door was slammed open and a blonde haired boy suddenly came bustling in.

"Sorry I'm late, Iruka-sensei." He huffed out as he took his usual seat in the back of the room. Iruka, to say the least, looked both pissed and worried. Pissed because Naruto had interrupted his lesson and was late. AGAIN! But he was also worried since this was not the first time that he had come in looking like he had ran ten miles. He decided to let it go for now and ask about it after class.

"As I was saying; as you all know, we've been studying other ninja villages and there ties to Konoha. But the education committee believes that a hands on experience would be better than learning about in a class. There for, the council have made arrangements to visit," All eyes were on him at this point. "Sunagakure!"

There was a mixture of reactions from the class at this news. Many were ecstatic that they would be leaving the village and going some place new. Others looked worried or annoyed for the same reason. And a small number of students looked indifferent. Surprisingly, Naruto was one of these people. Iruka took note of this but continued nonetheless.

"As a result, you will all be let out early to prepare for this trip in advance. If you wish to participate in this trip, be at the front gates at 7:00 a.m. I suggest you pact light but thorough since the trip will take six days of travel. Any questions?" The students, for the most part, remained quiet. It was obvious from the expressions on their faces that they were still trying to absorb what he had said. But one student, that was quicker than the rest, raised her hand almost automatically after he finished.

"Yes?" he chuckled lightly to himself as he answered. 'I should have known she would be asking the questions.' The girl that Iruka had addressed dropped her hand and instead rose from her chair. Even with her bright, green eyes and pink hair tied back by a red ribbon, she carried an air of maturity.

"Iruka-sensei, how are we going to get Suna. I hope you aren't suggesting we walk?"

"Why not, Sakura, it will great exercise for all of you. But we will we taking breaks during our three day trek," The minute the last three words were spoken; an uproar of complaints and moans filled the room. Iruka gave a disapproving frown.

"Now that's quite enough! You are all ninja in training. And as such, I expect you to behave better." Although Iruka didn't shout a word of his speech, it was still enough to mollify the crowd. "Now then, if there aren't any more questions," Sakura began to raise her hand again but Iruka beat her to the punch, "class dismissed."

The students quickly filed out of the room, many already engaged in conversation. Iruka watched his students leave, his eyes scanning the crowd hoping to see spiky, yellow hair among the group. Sadly, his attempts were in vain. Only when the sounds from the students had died away did Naruto finally get up from his desk. He was always the last to leave. However, before he could leave, Iruka stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto, can I speak to for a minute." The blond boy looked up at him with confusion and worry laced all over his features. Iruka saw this and assured him "Don't worry your not in trouble." Naruto seemed to relax as he came to sit next to Iruka at on the desks.

"What do want to talk about, Iruka-sensei?" Iruka became serious but kept a light smile so as not to frighten his student.

"I've noticed that for the last couple of days that you have been late to class. Mind explaining why?" At first Naruto was hesitant to say anything; but Iuka's calming smile gave him confidence. So, in typical Naruto fashion, he broke into a long-winded story. Starting at the beginning, Naruto was very blunt, giving little detail. But as the story progressed, he became more descriptive and elaborate. But Naruto, currently at the age of seven, often put in unneeded or fantasized details. By the end, Naruto was gasping for breath but otherwise looking fairly pleased.

"And that is why I was late for class." He finished, placing his hands on his hips and displaying a foxy grin. Iruka for the most part was dumbfounded. Even though his brain was working furiously to organize the information that Naruto had presented, he did get the basic idea. That being that his classmates were single ling out Naruto out to pick on. Worst yet, none of the other adults seemed obligated to help him. But Iruka, on the other hand, intended to put a stop to this.

With his mindset, Iruka looked down at his student with a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'm going to fix this mess." Naruto's eyes brightened at his sensei's words and his grin became bigger.

"Really?" Iruka gave a light nod.

"I promise so long as you do one thing for me." Naruto's vistage immediately became guarded.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to be at the gates tomorrow morning, ready to set off for Suna." Naruto's attitude became bright and cheerful.

"You have my word, Iruka-sensei."

"Alrighty then. Now run along and get ready for tomorrow. And don't worry about those boys, I'll take care of everything." Naruto nodded and sprinted out the door, but not before he waved good-bye.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated WIS in a while but I have been busy with other things in life. Also, I like to mention that I might be able to get more updates done if people give me a bit of insperation (hint hint, wink wink). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and see you next update.

_Written in Sand_

_Chapter two: A Chance Meeting_

"… and that, students, is how Sunagakure was founded. Next, we'll visit the Kazekage monuments and talk about each of them and their reigns. We will also be discussing the politics and trade industry and how…"

"Kami, this is so boring!" stated one of the boys in the back.

"I know, right. I expected this trip to be an awesome adventure, but all we've got is a small tour of the village and a huge lecture. I might of well stayed in class if I knew it was going to be this boring." In truth, it wasn't as torturous as they made it sound. But then again they were children with short attention spans and even shorter tolerance abilities.

"Hey, guys. Does any one know were Uzamaki went." The small group began scanning the crowd of their peers looking for the blonde haired boy. But as it turned out, Naruto had an even shorter attention and tolerance span then every one else and promptly five minutes into the tour had gotten bored and left. Realizing he was no were in sight, a mixture of emotions ensued in the group.

"That weasel, he must have left while no one was looking." The ringleader, Gambei, stated.

"Well, this good news, right." Another boy said excitedly. "I mean, we can leave this lecture to go find him and if we get caught we have an excuse." Gambei nodded in agreement.

"You have a point but…" an evil grin appeared on his face, "I have a better idea." The grin vanished and he promptly raised his hand, which was quickly noticed.

"Yes, Gambei." Lowering his hand, he asked quite innocently:

"Where is Naruto, Iruka-sensei?" At first, Iruka was quite perplexed about this question. But after giving the students and the area a quick scan, he realized that he was short one blonde kitsune boy. In the blink of an eye, Iruka became flustered and panic stricken.

Turning to one of his sand-nin escorts and explained the situation in the calmest manor he could pull off. The escort gave a light shrug and stated.

"So what if a brat goes missing. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually." Iruka looked thoroughly pissed but kept his composure as he leaned over and whispered something in the escort's ear. His eyes went wide as he asked. "Are you serious?" Iruka only nodded.

"Alright then, I'll send a team to look for the brat, in the mean time, take your students up to the Kazekage's office to await further news."

"Fine, but I'm joining the search if he isn't found in the next few hours." The escort wasn't exactly pleased to hear this but agreed nonetheless. Iruka then turned to his students who were watching him with curios eyes.

"Due to the disappearance of your class mate, Uzamaki Naruto, we have to cut short our tour. Until he has been found, you all are to wait at the Kazekage's office without complaint." Most every one began moaning and groaning but were quickly silenced by a look from their sensei. "Also, if any of you dare to leave without permission, you will be severally punished, understood!" No response. "Good!" He stated before he began to lead them to the Kazekage's office.

"Nice going, Gambei, now not only do have wait in a boring old office but now Uzamaki is going to have all the fun." Many others nodded in agreement with the boy but Gambei only turned and gave them a look.

"You guys don't get it, do you? Uzamaki may be having fun now but your forgetting that he is going to be in big time trouble when he gets caught. Not only that but from the sound of things a lot of are classmates want to get their hands on him just as much as we do, if you get my point." Most of his associate's frowns turned into impish grins. In only a few seconds, the gang of children began chatting excitedly amongst themselves on what they planed to do with the poor kitsune boy once they got a hold of him. Gambei's evil grin grew even more as he over heard these conversations.

'Uzamaki, your life is about to become a living hell.'

Meanwhile, an oblivious Naruto strolled through Suna unaware of the havoc that he was causing. But how could he when he was currently enjoying the freedom that he had taken without permission. After leaving the group, Naruto set out to explore ever inch of Suna from top to bottom. This task was easier said than done not only because Suna was just as big (if not bigger) than Konoha but also Naruto kept to the shadows as much as possible so as not to be seen. He did this mainly because experience had taught him time and again stay out of peoples' ways or risk getting a beating. Being dense and seven years of age, Naruto didn't realize that here he had done no harm to any of them so thus people in this village had no reason to hate and despise him. He found this out the hard way.

While jumping from building to building, Naruto tripped and went tumbling into the street. Naruto instinctively took up a position to better protect himself from an attack, but when none came, he looked up to see the people passing by like normal. Slowly getting up and taking a few cautious steps, he came to realize that people treated him differently here than at home. After that moment, Naruto took up a blissful pace, happy to be able to walk in the bright sun without glares of hate and despise he was used to.

Within a few short hours, Naruto had covered a lot of ground and had explored nearly every inch of Suna. The only place he had yet to examine were the rocky hills surrounding the area. So that is where we now find our young protagonist: hiking up one of the pathways that led to the village's reservoir. But for all his efforts, he was thoroughly disappointed at what he saw.

'Man, this place isn't as cool as everywhere else. I mean, if I wanted to see a bunch of giant puddles I would have...' but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard an immediate uproar. Acting on instinct, he hid behind the closest object, which so happened to be a rocky outcropping. Peeking his head out from behind it, Naruto was shocked at what he saw.

There, only ten or so feet away, was a small gang of kids of five or six. All of them were standing at the rim of one of the "puddles" that were the main source of water for the town. They were also shouting and screaming in ecstasy at something that was happening in the pond. But what stood out the most was the small body flailing around in the middle of the pool. A spark of recognition as concentrated on the red dot that was bobbing on the surface of the water.

"Okami, is that a person?" He whispered to no one in particular. He looked back at the gang of children then at the person in the water. "It is and he's drowning. And I bet they want him to drown." Shock quickly turned to rage as painful memories flashed before his eyes. He stood there in fury, his whole frame shaking from it as he glared down the gang of children. Many a nasty thought crossed his mind and his face came to resemble the demons as he imagined unleashing a variety of tortures on his unsuspecting prey. But all scheming stopped when heard a shout from the pour soul in the water's death grip.

As always, Naruto acted on impulse. In a heartbeat, he had crossed the distance between the pool and himself and hurdled off the rim. He was shocked to find the water freezing cold but shrugged it off as he had faced worse. Even though Naruto was horrible in most of his gymnastics classes, he was a fantastic swimmer. That combined with the strength he had developed while at the academy helped in hauling the stranger on to land.

The children, who had watched everything unfold, were thoroughly displeased. Intent on showing their outrage, they assembled into the group and prepared to attack the intruder. But Naruto was in no mood and only needed to give them a full on glare to stop them in their tracks. Normally, Naruto glaring at anyone was not enough to frighten but his bad mood and the children's vivid imagination quickly set them running. Once they were long since out of earshot, Naruto turned back to the person he had saved.

He was shocked but not surprised to find that the person he had rescued was a boy, much around his age. He had dusty, red hair and deep black circles around his eyes as if he didn't get much sleep. Naruto would latter remember that even as he lay they unconscious, he seemed to shack as if in fear, obviously caught in some horrific nightmare. His cloths were unusual to Naruto but were natural attire for young kids in Suna. After looking him up and down over and over again, he concluded that there was nothing special. The only thing that really stood out of place was that this boy was caring a much abused and now drenched teddy bear that he clung to his side and the large heavy gourd that had been strapped to his back.

The minutes ticked by and Naruto's attention span started to get the best of him. Several times he had to slap himself to keep his mind from wandering and even more times he had to restrain himself from thinking about what he could be doing.

'Focus.' He told himself, 'Iruka-sensei told us in class that to be a ninja we have to… by the way, I wonder if Iruka-sensei knows I'm missing by now… wait I'm getting off track again. Stop it! I need to accomplish complete and otter focus if I'm ever to be become... wait, is this even a mission? No one told me to do it I just acted. What am I still doing here? I could be… Ahh, why do I keep doing that? The whole point behind staying is to see if he… wait, is it even a boy? For all I know it could be a… Wait; focus! The whole point behind staying is to see if he's grateful, even enough to be…' He paused in mid thought as hope flared in his heart. 'enough to be my friend.' Naruto would soon find out for the rescued party was stirring awake.

"Mmm… what? Where am I...?"

"Konichiwa!" Naruto yelled at the boy minute he was conscious. The boy, being of sensitive nature and not used to some one screaming in his face after gaining consciousness, shirked away from Naruto. He did it so fast that he almost fell off the rim back into the pool.

"Whoa, there. You don't plan on doing that again do you?" Naruto asked while grapping onto the boy before he went to far over. He quickly regained his balance and muttered out a "arigatou" before he scanned his surroundings.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is being in the water and then everything black and then…" He shuddered slightly but Naruto didn't notice. Instead, he went about answering his question with a big, sheepish grin on his face.

"Well, the thing is… I saw you being bullied by those bullies and wanting to do something so I saved you and sort of scared them off." The boy looked at him in shock and Naruto assumed that he had said something wrong. "Did I do something wrong?"

The boy suddenly shook his head before he said "no, I'm very grateful, arigato." He then bowed fully making Naruto blush.

"No it was nothing, really. I do it all the time." After a few minutes passed, Naruto got up and looked around. "Well, I've got to get going, it was nice meeting you but…"

"Wait! Don't go, I mean." He took a moment to choose his words. "Let me come with you. I know all be a burden but I'll make it up to you…" But Naruto stopped him from making a fool of him self.

"Sure, you can come." Hope spread through every part of the boys being but was diminished by his next words. "But you have to promise me one thing." He felt caution creep in but agreed none-the-less. Naruto grinned from ear to ear and his eyes sparkled like stars.

"You have to be my friend." He was taken aback but joy quickly over took every part of his body. He nodded without hesitation and grin appeared to match Naruto's.

"Great!" He said while holding out his hand. "I'm Naruto Uzamaki." The boy was not used to physical contact but took hold of his hand regardless.

"I'm Garra." He paused before adding, "Garra of the sand."

Well, what do you think. Now that the two boys have met, who knows what kind of chaos they will create. If any of you have an idea or clue as to what should happen next to the two friends, please review me and do tell. Who knows, I might use your ideas later on.


End file.
